Independent Contractor Agreements

Jayhawk

Our company is getting ready to hire two sales agent as contractors. They will be 100% commission with no expenses/benefits paid. They only get paid on business they bring in. Does anyone have a sample contract I could look at for this type of position? We are a service-based company. Any help would be appreciated.

gillian2

Your question is contradictory. An independent contractor is not someone that is hired and they are not an employee. If you want someone to do work for you on a regular basis make them an employee because if you make them an independent contractor you may have all sorts of issues with the IRS etc. for failing to pay taxes. If these are sales people and you don't want an employee make an arrangement with a sales rep. who reps for other people as well. They are real independent contractors.

Jayhawk

Maybe you misunderstood what I am looking for. I never stated that we are hiring an "employee". And, it is completely within reason to say we are "hiring" an independent contractor...we are hiring his services by a contractual basis....regardless, this person is a sales rep for a different line of business and we are well aware, as notified by our accountant, that there are many things we need to make sure of while he is contracted with us, so he does not appear to be an employee. I thought maybe someone would have an independent sales representative agreement that I could look at and compare to one that I pulled off of Westlaw.

HRQ

I sent mine to your forum email address. It's not specifically for the position you mentioned, but it might help.

System

Gillian is correct. You HIRE an employee. You CONTRACT with an independent contractor. There is a legal difference. If you are simply looking for a way to bring in sales while avoiding paying benefits and taxes, you are on a slippery slope. Pulling down a contract off the internet is not a good way to proceed. The person is not a contractor if you control his hours, determine his duties, give him his required duties, provide his materials, make him accountable to and have him reporting to you on a regular basis, control his movements or his territory or if you don't allow him a considerable amount of flexibility in movement and methods and hiring others and his duty hours. I sense you are looking only to avoid the payment of taxes and benefits. The IRS will call your hand on this and you'll be strapped with the payment of back taxes and the provision of benefits on a retroactive basis. But, maybe I too misunderstood.